Month: September 2015

It’s my birthday in less than a month. I’ll be turning 24, which makes me officially in-my-mid-twenties. Will that make my birthday wishlist more grown up? Will it make it more practical? Will it make it less frivolous? Will it heck.

Advanced Night Repair Eye – Estee Lauder, £40

My current eye cream has run out, and I’m definitely starting to notice more puffiness and less youthful buoyancy in the skin around my eyes. Let’s see if I can beat ageing to the punch with this little baby. The Victoria’s Secret models use it, dontchaknow.

4 Maxim Champagne Flute Glasses – Marks and Spencer, £15

Because I don’t yet own champagne prosecco flutes. And this, frankly, is a travesty and a sham.

Real Techniques Powder Brush – Boots, £12.99

I might be in my mid-twenties soon, but I still have the skin of an oily teenager. Time to upgrade my powder brush!

Purple Spectrum Kitchen Canisters – Dunelm Mill, £3.99 each

A trio of little lovelies to keep my tea, coffee and sugar tidy. I already own the matching kettle and toaster…#purpleparadise

Tall Jaxson Faux Fur Short Parka – Topshop, £78

Now that it’s autumn, my commute isn’t getting any warmer – or drier. A cute parka like this one should keep me cosy enough, until I need to bring out the big guns (100% wool coats) nearer Christmas.

PS: Sorry Topshop, if you’re reading, for this terrible screengrab of your coat. Complete with arrows and expandy box. I just like it, ok?

A Clare Caulfield Print – Etsy, £50+

I stumbled across this artist when I was searching for something else on Etsy, and I just love her beautiful sketchy, watercolour technique. As I’m moving house, it would be lovely to brighten up the new place with one of her prints.

A big black tote bag – Warehouse, £36

For winter time, this is significantly more chic-looking than trying to fit a rucksack over a coat.

My only specifications are that it’s black, fits over my shoulder, and most importantly that it closes with a zip. Far too many bags don’t actually close at the top these days; it drives me potty. Seriously, is anyone else bothered by this, or is it just me?!

Tan lace up brogue boots – New Look, £49.99

Because honestly, once we’re into October, ballet pumps are not going to survive more than 5 minutes of my commute. Vaguely waterproof shoes are imperative. And far less squelchy.

Finally, I’d love to get a new blusher, to capture the rosy glow of a brisk autumn doggie walk. Most of the (three) blushers I currently have are more coral-based and summery, so I’d love to pick up a quality shade to last me through the cooler months.

Whew. That was quite a virtual shop!

Hopefully this’ll help to give my family a few ideas come October time. But even if I get nothing from the wishlist, I’ll still be very happy.

Last year I went on holiday to Morocco with my family. It was a pretty amazing holiday – we stayed in a riad in Marrakech and one night rode camels through the Sahara desert. The camel was so uncomfortable I cried a little bit. I am officially too diva for deserts.

Anyway, my favourite day of the trip was when we went to Le Jardin Majorelle – a beautiful garden which was once owned by none other than Yves Saint Laurent, and is now open to the public. It was originally designed by a French artist called Jacques Majorelle, who painted the garden walls, fountains, and features in a stunning cobalt blue – called Bleu Majorelle.

Fast forward to 2015, and I’m standing in a B&Q store in Manchester, looking at a row of buckets containing Crown Matt Emulsion. And lo and behold, their shade ‘Opening Season’ looks like a more wearable version of Bleu Majorelle.

So I bought the paint for my living room, and now I’ll be pouring over pictures of the Majorelle Garden for even more inspiration!

What inspires you when you’re decorating? I’d love to hear where you get your creative sparks from!

The first time I realised I loved the smell of fig was in a candle shop. I’ve never liked the texture of the fruit, and the closest I came to enjoying eating it was a fig roll biscuit. As for the scent, I can’t say I ever noticed the real thing.

But if you’ve ever smelled Jo Malone’s Wild Fig and Cassis candle (the source of my obsession), you’ll know what I’m talking about. Fruity, woody, and a little bit smoky, figs have a totally delicious and relaxing scent. Which is why I’ve hunted down a few figgy-fragranced finds (YES alliteration) for this latest wish list.

I hope you enjoy taking a look. If you love figgy fragrances as much as I do, do leave me a comment!

Under a Fig Tree Scented Candle – Rituals – £19.50

This smells heavenly, and at £19.50 it’s less than half the price of a Jo Malone candle. Which makes the indulgence seem much less indulgent, don’t you think?

Korres Fig Shower Gel – £8.00

I can’t stop sniffing this in Debenhams. It’s gorgeous. And there’s nothing like showering in your favourite scent!

Acqua di Parma Fico di Amalfi Eau de Toilette – £57.00 for 75ml

I cannot justify buying this. At all. But you can listen to me waxing lyrical about these beautiful fragrances here.

Diptyque Figuier Scented Oval – £32.00

Hang this in your “linen cupboard” (i.e. the top shelf of your wardrobe) or lob it in a drawer. Every time you put fresh linen on your bed, the fragrance will fill the air, as if a light breeze has just passed through the leaves of a nearby fig tree. Probably.

Seriously though, imagine having a scented linen cupboard. That’s a level of sophistication which I’m very excited to achieve one day.

Urban Apothecary 65g Fig Luxury Candle – £13.00 (or £26.00 for 130g)

I haven’t sniffed this one in person, so can’t attest to whether the smell is any good or not. But just look at the adorable glass packaging! So vintagey. So cute…

The White Company Fresh Fig Hand and Nail Cream – £14.00 for 250ml

One day I’ll be the sort of lady that has a matching set of White Company hand wash and hand cream on her bathroom sink. And it will smell of fig. #lifegoals

Pacifica Mediterranean Fig Roll on Perfume – £12.00 for 10ml

Had a whiff of this in Holland and Barrett the other day, and loved how warm and fruity it smelled. I’m so glad Pacifica has finally crossed the pond!

Jo Malone Wild Fig and Cassis Cologne – £42.00 for 30ml

I’d like to pretend I don’t spritz this all over myself whenever I pass a Jo Malone counter. But I totally do. Sorry.

BTW: All images are taken from the featured company websites and are not mine. Just, you know, clarifying.

If you love the smell of coconut as much as I do, you need to know about this stuff.

The new intensive conditioner is the latest development in a whole range of coconut-scented products by Faith in Nature. And phwoar, does it smell good.

In the interests of truth and honour, I should point out now that the conditioner is still in development, and I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek. It came in a little plastic sample pot (a bit like the ones you can get at the doctor’s, except not gross) and it made me very excited. Very excited indeed.

But worry not lads, my honest review of the product will not be compromised by excitement. I’m cool like that.

So, now that that’s been said, I’m going to tell you all about this deliciously coconutty conditioner. So that when it actually gets released, you’ll totally want some. I know I do.

This is a picture of the conditioner that’s already on the market, not the shiny new one. But you get the idea.

Scent?

Gorgeous. It feels like you’re showering in a pina colada, and I can’t help smelling the bottle whenever it catches my eye. Unfortunately, the scent didn’t linger in my hair – perhaps because I diluted it with heat protection when I dried it. Still, I can look forward to smelling it again in tomorrow’s shower…

Texture?

Surprisingly light for an intense conditioner, but reassuringly rich at the same time. My hair’s quite fine (although there’s lots of it) and it wasn’t weighed down at all.

Ingredients?

100% natural fragrances, and no parabens or SLS. Impressive!

Tangles?

I was pleasantly surprised. After rough-drying my hair with a towel, I got a brush through it without too much trouble (or pulling). Winner.

Grease?

Minimal. I was actually really gross last week and didn’t wash my hair for 4 days. (Please don’t judge me, I was doing D.I.Y. I still showered every day, I’m not an animal…)

Anyway, despite the 96 hours of unwashed hair, the greasy build up I was expecting never came – which was surprising for an intensive conditioner.

Good hair?

Absolutely. Swishy, light, and soft – I even had a little more volume than usual, which was very pleasing! My ends could be a bit more moisturised, but that’s probably got more to do with colouring choices than conditioner. All in all, I’ll definitely be picking this up when it gets released!

The obvious solution is to buy two moisturisers to do two different jobs. But there’s a pretty large spanner in the works where that’s concerned, and it’s called money.

So, I looked at The Body Shop’s Seaweed range. Which is specifically designed for combination skin.

And did I like it? Well, it’s a combination.

One one hand, the Mattifying Day Cream did do the job nicely. It had a vaguely gel-like consistency which didn’t feel too heavy on the oily parts of my face, while the thirst of my forehead was suitably quenched.

On the other hand, the stuff smells like seaweed. As in, it smells like the sea. And not in a good way. In a fishy way.

So yeah. Make what you will of that.

And in the mean time, I’ll continue my search for a nice, non-fishy face cream.